Scattered All Over the Earth

The narrative shifts many years back in time as Susanoo narrates his life, beginning with the moment when, as a young man in France, he loses the ability to speak just as he begins to understand the French language. Susanoo’s narrative then moves to his childhood in Fukui, when he spends time with his father who works as a builder of humanoid robots. He makes one robot, Kaku-san, for the local Homeland PR Center, where it tells students about the development of the area’s economy from fishing to nuclear power production in the face of a changing global economic landscape.

When Susanoo is in junior high, his mother leaves their family. She works at a club in town, and though she is sometimes nice, she can be very cruel to Susanoo. Often she tells Susanoo that she wishes he was never born. In the aftermath of her departure, Susanoo is bullied at school, and one day, upon returning home with a black eye, he makes a replica of his mother out of discarded robot parts behind his father’s workshop. He develops unhealthy thoughts toward girls around him, often imagining violent acts against them.